Line lift



June 28,1932. H, E, CLARK 1,864,802

I LINE LIFT Filed April 14, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 x9 Inuenzor IK011726625: I Ma .Fv'ryE Clark fa mm M Q H E. CLARK Jun 28, 1932.

LINE' LIFT Filed April 1 1/1950 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 I Inventor Til/ECzar/L Patented June 23, 1932 "res nanny E. steak, or HUNTINGTON PARK,oALIFoRNIA, AssIG on oroNE-TILIRD- TO n. K. row-ran, or Los ANGELES,CALIFORNIA, ONE-THIRD .ro L.'A. FRIEDMAN, or LOVE-LOCK, NEVADA, ANDONE-THIRD r FLORENCE B. CLARK LINE LIFT Application filed April 14,1930. Serial No. 444,0 11.

This invention is more particularly intended for use in oil well rigsfor the purpose of handling steel wire line's.

Such lines are used for heavy duty such as liftingdrill pipe andlowering casing, and

extend over a crown sheave at the top of the oil derrick and one end isconnected to a spooling drum which is operated by power.

Such lines are connected to raise and lower a traveling block, and oneend of the line is There is also installed in the rig a power drivenfriction pulley called a cathead, the purpose of which is to handle ahemp rope called a cat-line, which is rove through a pulley in the crownhead and is adapted to be connected to weighty things or parts that haveto be lifted.

The traveling blockis very heavy, weighing about one ton, more or less.The raising and lowering of the traveling block is effected byappropriate operation of the drum and the calf wheel, the latter onlybeing used in emergencies. The lines are subject to wear: it oftenoccurring that ten or fifteen lines will be worn out during the drillingof a well, and in order to change the line it is necessary to lower thetraveling block to the floor of the derrick, and at other times itbecomes necessary to change the sheaves on the crown of the derrick; andwhen this is required, it is necessary to take the weight of thetraveling block and the line, off of the crown sheave thatis to bechanged.

The line rove back and forth through the sheaves is divided by thetraveling block into loops that are called the throws, each of which iscarried by separate sheave in the crown. It is customary to connect thecat-line with parallel limbs of thc'particular throw which it is desiredto free from the crown head sheave that is to be changed, turned orreother end, to the opposite limbs of the loop to be lifted.

In practical operation the wire line necessarily becomes covered withoil so that it will move smoothly through the sheaves and it is verydiflicult to make a stable connection be tween the cat-line and thelimbs of the loop or throw. 7,

Such loops or throws of steelwire line are very heavy and in case thefastening between the cat-line and such loop orthrow', slips, the

loop falls instantly andwith greatforce thus. endangering life and limband the safe'ty'of the derrick in its descent; and furthermore, in caseswhere the traveling block has to be raised from the floor, such a slipislikely to be more dangerousbecauseof the falling of the block. Thetraveling blocksare usually made of very hard castings so that they willwear well; and such castings are so brittle that if the block falls farenough, it will break when'it strikes the rotary table of the rig. Suchbreakage is very expensive as the price of each block runs from onethousand to two thousand dollars, -more or less, and the delay ofreplacing the block causes further expense in time and'labor.

An object of this'invention is to provide cheap, convenient, simple,easily applied safety means for connecting the cat-line to the limbs ofthe throw that is to-be lifted, or to the line in stringing the blocks;and by my invention it is made convenient andsafe to string'the linethrough the block and sheave while the block is on 'thefloor.Heretofor'e in stringing the line through the block and the sheaves itwas customary to attach the cat-line to the wire line at some distancefrom the end thereof, and then to operate the cat-line by wrapping itaround the frictionpulley called the cathead and by operating thecathead to drawthe wire line up to the crown sheave, and to'string thewire line through the fast sheave, which runs on roller bearings at ahigh speed. When the wire line end has been passed over the firstsheave, and lowered to the floor, it is secured at a considerabledistance from its end to the upper end of the traveling block, leavingsuflicient length free for stringing through the block sheaves, and overthe crown sheaves, after'the traveling block has been raised byoperating the drum. Such line is sometimes secured to the travelingblock by pieces of soft rope and sometimes by bending the line andsecuring the limbs of the 103p thus made, by what is termed a clamp. ttimes the fastenings thus made slip, thus allowing the traveling blockand the line to fall to the floor of the derrick with resulting greatdamage and expense.

An object of this invention is to provide means whereby such slippingcan be avoided.

My invention is that I provide a lift comprising two metal sleevesegments each having a channel conformed to the twist of the wire line,and I provide a friction cramp yoke adapted to fit onto the sleeveformed by joining the two segments when brought together face to face onthe wire line, and connected to the cat-line at one side of the sleeve;

. and so constructed that when strain of the cat-line is brought ontothe friction cramp member or yoke, the sleeve will be clamped frictiontight on such line.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of convenient meansfor making the connection between the cramp member and the cat-line.

,Another feature is that I connect the cramp yoke, and the separatesleeve segments, to thecat-line by independent flexible connections, asthin wire cords; the connection for the yoke being of greater lengththan the other three connections so that when all four flexibleconnections hang from the same point on the cat line, the suspended yokewill hang below the lower ends of the sleeve segments ready to heslipped up onto the sleeve segments and into place.

The space between the ends of the yoke arms is sufficient to allow theyoke to be slipped onto the steel line below the segments fitted on suchline, and then up the sleeve until the yoke becomes tight on the sleeve;then connection between the cat-line and the ends of the yoke will bemade, and the limbs of the cat-line below the lift will be tied togetherin a well known usual way sothat by looping the appropriate limb of thecat-line around the cathead, the operation of the cathead may be appliedto pull the cat-line in one and the other direction to raise or lowerthe lift, and the wire line to which it is connected.

Other objects, advantages and features of nvention may appear from theaccompany- 1ng drawings, the subjoined detailed description and theappended claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is an elevation showing the newly invented lift in position tolift a throw or loop of line in a derrick which is shown with a calfwheel, a winding drum or spool, with cathead in place and a cat-linesuspended over a sheave in the derrick, and applied to the cathead andto the yokes of the lifts assembled in the derrick for raising andlowering a throw of the wire line, and the traveling block connected tosuch line.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective detail showing the sleeve segments,and the yoke attached to a wire line, a fragment of which is shown, andalso showing the split ring and fragments of the cords which connect theparts to the cat-line.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the sleeve and yoke, omitting the suspendingconnections shown in Fig. 2; the wire line is shown in place.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of an assembly of the sleeve segments and theyoke, which latter is shown in section on line 004, Fig. 3; thesuspending connections being omitted.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the twist grooved inner face of one of thesleeve sections.

Fig. 6 is an edge view of the sleeve section shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

. Fig. 7 is a View looking up from the bottom of the sleeve formed bythe segments fitted together.

Fig. 8 is a view illustrating the position of the lift parts when hungon the cat-line beside the wire line; a fragment of such is shown; andalso a sheave and fragments of the cat-line and of the cathead.

Fig. 9 is a fragmental section of the yoke on line x9, Fig. 8, lookingtoward the ends of the yoke arms.

The oil well derrick 1 with its crown sheaves 2, wire line 3, spoolingdrum 4, traveling block 5, calf wheel 6, cathead 7 and catline 8, are ofusual construction and arrangement. Each of the two metal sleevesegments 9, 9', has a twist imprint channel or groove 10 to conform tothe twist of the wire line, and adapted to provide for positiveanti-slipping engagement of the sleeve when assembled on the wire line.

The cramping yoke 11 may be of cast or wrought steel as a heavy bow 12provided with forwardly converging limbs 13; and an inner semi-circulardownwardly reduced gripping face or seat 14 of more than 180 degrees,adapted to fit the sleeve when the arms 9, 9 are brought together on theline 3, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4. The yoke arms 18 converge towardeach other forwardly from the cramping seat 14 and are spaced apart adistance less than the diameter of the assembled sleeve, and greaterthan the diameter of the wire line, so that when the sleeve is assembledon the wire line, the yoke may be slipped across the wire line and belowthe lower end of the sleeve, and may then be drawn up into crampingposition on the sleeve as indicated in Fig. 2.

The connection for attachment of the catline to the yoke arms isprovided for by holes 15 in the arms, and an open link 16 havingseparable hooks 17, 18, pivoted together at 19 and adapted to be passedthrough said holes side by side to unitedly form means for drawing upthe arms of the yoke so as to cramp the sleeve.

The sleeves 9, 9', are provided with ear 20 in which are secured cords21 by which to attach the sleeves to a ring 22. An ear 23 on the yoke isprovided to receive an attaching cord 24 by which the yoke is suspendedfrom said ring 22; and a cord 25 connects the open link 16 to said ring22, which may be connected to the cat-line 8 at any place therealongdesired.

The installation and use of the invention will readily be understoodfrom the foreoing.

The ears 20 are at the tops of the rounded taper outer faces of thesleeve segments, an the ear 23 is at the top of the rear face of theyoke bow for convenient handling of the parts when the cords or otherflexible connections are supporting the parts separately.

The concave downwardly reduced gripping face or seat 14 of the yoke isadapted to fit snugly on the taper sleeve to insure ready cramping ofthe yoke on the sleeve when force upwardly directed relative to thesleeve is applied to the projecting portions of the yoke arms while thesleeve are applied with their twisted grooves on the twisted strandline, and the yoke is on the sleeve.

In practise, to apply the lift to a line, the lift assembly supported bythe connections will be swung to the limb of the line that is to belifted; and if two line limbs are to be lifted, two assemblies will beemployed, one for each limb. The workman will first swing the suspendedsleeves onto the line on opposite sides thereof and bring them toposition where the twist imprints 10, will fit exactly upon the spiralperimeter of the line; then he will swing the yoke into position aroundthe line below the sleeve and will then slip the yoke up the sleeve asfar as it will go; he will then attach the split link to the projectingarms of the yoke, meanwhile adjusting the sleeve and yoke to a positionwhere the connections 21 and 24 between the ring and the sleeve segmentsand the yoke are slack, while the short connection 25 is taut, as shownin Fig. 2; so that an upward movement of the ring 22 caused by thecatline 8, will move the yoke arms 13 upward to cramp the sleevesegments onto the line. When this is effected, the wire line is underthe control of the cat-line and can be lifted as described.

To release the wire line, the cat-line will be slacked, thus loweringthe ring, until the weight of the wire line and whatever it carries, hascome to rest upon some support; then the yoke will slide down the sleeveand off at the lower end, thus allowing the sleeve segments to swingfree from the wire line.

I claim 1'. A line lift comprising tapered sleeve segments'adapted toengage-awire line betweenthem; a cramping yoke having a semicircularseat of more than 180 degrees I to embrace'and engagesaid segments, andhaving arms spaced apart so as to pass a line between them into saidseat, and means to move the arms to cramp'the yoke seat upon the sleevesegments.

2. A line lift comprising sleeve segments having grooves to receive andengage a line between the segments, and to form a sleeve; a crampingyoke on the segments, and a connection by which the yoke may be cantedon the sleeve for cramping and clamping the segments thereof onto thesleeve for lifting a line d held by the sleeve.

3. A line lift comprising. a sleeve formed of segments provided on theirmeeting faces with grooves adapted to frictionally engage a line; acramping yoke having a seat adapted to fit upon, to hold together, andto frictionally cramp the sleeve and clamp it upon a line, and means totilt the yoke into cramping position on the sleeve for the purpose oflifting the sleeve and the line.

4. A line lift assembly for attachment to a cat-line or the like,comprising sleeve segments having twist face grooves to fit upon a lineformed of twisted strands; a yoke adapted to clamp the segments on suchline and to frictionally cramp the segments; means for lifting the lineconnected to the yoke arms for causing the yoke to frictionally crampupon the sleeve segments; means to suspend the sleeve segments, the yokeand the yoke cramping means from a common support; the yoke suspendingmeans being longer than the other suspending means for suspending theyoke below the lower end of the sleeve segments, for allowing thesuspended sleeve segments to be brought onto the line above the level ofthe suspended yoke; said yoke cramping means being attachable to anddetachable from the yoke.

5. A line lift assembly comprising a pair of tapered sleeve segment-s,each segment having on its meeting face a groove provided with twiststrand imprints to fit the twist strands of the wire line; each segmentbeing provided on the back of its larger end with a suspending eye; aring; flexible connections connecting said eye to the ring; a crampingyoke provided at its bow with an eye and having a seat of more than 180degrees and of less diameter than the larger end of the sleeve formed bythe segments and having arms spaced apart to allow the yoke to be passedonto and from the line, and provided with holes; a flexible connectionof greater length than either of the sleeve segment connections,connecting the yoke eye to said ring; a split link having hook armspivoted together and adapted to enter the holes in said yoke arms; aflexible connection for suspending said link from said ring with itshooks in position to enterthe holes in the arms of the yoke; and a softline connected to the ring for raising and lowering the same.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California, this 4th day of April, 1930.

V HARRY E. CLARK.

